Private India – Book Review

Murders, this one word captures most of the thrillers you ever read. Doesn’t it? A captivating story of how in an overcrowded city called Mumbai, famous for all the good and bad, murders are happening and no one is finding a clue of who the murderer is and what is his motive. With every murder, the antagonist is making everyone curious about his purpose of murders and the choice of people he is making to kill. The grip of this story lies around a yellow scarf which is used in all the killings but its use comes up in the later half of the book. It keeps you wanting for more and once you hold this book, there is no leaving it back, unread.

Santosh Wagh, the chief at Private India, Mumbai’s finest private investigation branch is struggling to find the killer while his team backs him up with all the necessary information which brings him a little closer to crack the case but at every step there is a major turn which keeps him distracted from the killer’s purpose. Nisha Gandhe, Santosh’s assistant who is as sharp as Santosh, helps him find clues and cracks jumbled pieces by her wit and Mubeen, the tech geek makes sure every task associated with these murders are backed by precise information to help Santosh. While the murderers continue to happen, there is a major threat to the city of over thirteen million people and with these murders to be ceased, there is a major purpose for the team to save the city and every single life this murderer has planned to take away.

While Munna, the don at Mumbai and Nimboo baba, the so called savior of everyone’s problems make sure that the killer’s purpose is served, Santosh wants to make sure it doesn’t. Do you think Santosh will be able to find the smart murderer? Do you think Santosh and his team is enough to stop the murders and the major threat of ISI and a mass bombing? Jack Morgan, the international head at Private India is a constant spine to Santosh Wagh while he himself is pointed fingers at, a lot of times between the story and you never know who can do what at a later stage of life, right?

As the story continues, we come to know about the darker sides of metro cities and hidden activities which keep going under cover and we might not be aware about. It shows us how the society works, how influence of people can make or break things and how a few innocent people can become prey to serve the dangerous goals of revengeful people.

Coming to the positives of the book, the best part were the shorter chapters which do not bore you to take a break but as soon as you finish one, you want to latch on to the other to know what’s going to happen next. It keeps you glued till 80% of the book is finished but I feel that the last part of the book is a little stretched and could have been shorter and to the point. But then wouldn’t you want it to keep you stuck to know the end for a little longer than an abrupt one?

Personally speaking, the genre was completely new to me because I don’t prefer to read more of fiction but the way this book is written, the way it has disclosed the darker side of the city, people and mishaps around, it kept me coming back for more. Honestly, James Patterson’s way of writing a novel has impressed me a lot.

Over all, I’d like to give this book a 3.75/5 and to all the readers who haven’t been into thriller, darker stories and fiction, you can always start with this book. 🙂